Permission
by Magali1
Summary: (Finally) Complete; Tim needs to get Buddy's permission for something. Future fic that is hopefully funny. Tim, Lyla, Matt, Julie, Tyra, Buddy, and Jason all appear.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Another silly little fic. I like writing these types of fics while I'm trying to finish my next multi-chapter which is much more serious. Enjoy. :) There might be a sequel, possibly a Buddy and Coach perspective, but I haven't decided. Once again, this is a future fic, and the standard 'any and all grammar/spelling mistakes are mine' applies too. Oh and if anyone has seen the moving "John Carter" you'll recognize the name of Lyla's dog. Hee hee. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Just do it."

"Why?"

"Because." Lyla tugged her blouse on over her bra, turning to the mirror and slipping her earrings back on. She met his eyes in the mirror, turning her head slightly to glance his way. "It's just…tradition."

"Garrity I don't know if you know this, but I'm not really a traditional fellow." Tim crawled beneath the comforter, popping out the end, pillowing his chin on his folded arms. He smiled up at her. "Besides…" He stretched his arm out, grabbing her behind her knee and tugging her backwards towards the bed, dropping her back onto the edge. He sat up a little on his elbow, looking up at her. "Your dad hates me."

"He doesn't hate you." Lyla tweaked his nose, getting back up and standing in front of the mirror, tucking her blouse back into her thin pencil skirt. She walked away, shrugging her shoulders, going to sit on a bench beneath the window, shoving her feet back into her high heels. "He just…"

She had to give him that one. "Well I think he liked you before you started seeing me again."

"He said I ruined your life by keeping you in Dillon."

"But I don't live in Dillon."

"You live in Austin, which for the purposes of understanding your father are one and the same." Tim reached out, tugging beneath her skirt, snapping at the garter clip to her stockings. "These are hot by the way. Can you take the skirt off?"

"No, Tim, I can't, because I have a very important meeting with the chief of staff of the hospital." Lyla leaned over, holding his face in her hands, smiling against his lips. She mumbled against him, shrugging her shoulder. "Besides, this was only a nooner. Not a day playing hookey."

"What kind of meeting?"

"Don't change the subject." Lyla returned to the dresser, slipping on her watch. She turned away, her hair pulled back into its high ponytail, hopefully not looking too flyaway. She tugged on her suit jacket, before leaned down to take his face into her hands, giving him a very long, very intense kiss.

When she broke away, she smiled. "You know, that…that little red teddy you like so much?" she breathed, nodding when she got his dumbstruck look. "Yeah? Well if you ask my dad, I will be very happy and…well, I will wear it all…night…long," she whispered, punctuating each word with a kiss.

Tim reached for her again, only to have her tap his nose and tug back, turning around to walk towards the door. "Make the bed before you leave."

He groaned, hitting the mattress with his fist. "I'm not asking your dad's permission!" Tim yelled. He heard her heels clicking on the hardwood stairs. He yelled again. "It's stupid Lyla! He's just going to say no, then what? We're never going to get married?" He didn't hear a response. "You there? Am I talking to myself?"

He sighed, hitting his forehead to the edge of the mattress, mumbling. "Yeah I'm talking to myself. And I'm still talking to myself. Why the hell won't I shut up?"

He rolled onto his back, groaning when Lyla's bulldog who she called Woola for some reason, jumped up onto his chest. He scratched Woola's head. "I guess I have to ask permission."

The dog barked. It was booming.

Tim sighed. "Yeah. This is really going to suck."

* * *

A few days later he balked again at talking to Buddy, choosing to sidestep him after the Panther victory against visiting Gatlin. He was halfway to his truck when he felt what had to be Lyla-the-Dynamo pushing him sideways, away from the truck, turning him around. "Ah," he whined. "No!"

"He's happy, the Panthers won, they're going to quarterfinals for State, and this could not be a better time!" Lyla exclaimed, dragging him back to the field, where Buddy was standing in his usual spot on the field, talking with assistant coach Billy. "Daddy! Tim wants to talk to you!"

She turned around, her hands on his shoulders. "Talk to him."

"No."

"Do it or I will not let you see me without the skirt and the garters tonight."

Yay! Incentive. Tim grinned wide. "Okay." He pushed her out of his way, walking towards Buddy. "Hey, Mr. Garrity, can I talk to you?"

"Tim Riggins! It's time to celebrate! Drinks are on me at the bar!" Buddy turned him around, pushing him towards the parking lot. He waved. "Lyla! Sweetheart! Meet me at the bar, we can celebrate! How is work treating you? You save any kids today?"

"No more than any other day." Lyla glanced at him, smiling darkly. "Hey Daddy, make sure to give Tim some time tonight, he has to talk to you about something very important and dear to your heart."

"No," Tim just said. He grabbed her wrist, dragging her towards the truck. "We are not doing this Garrity."

"Yes, we are."

He got into the truck, driving away in silence. He was halfway to Buddy's Bar when he saw a familiar couple in a car at a red light. Driving up beside them, he honked the horn, lowering his window. "What up Seven? Jules, didn't know you were in town."

"What up Riggs?" Matt laughed, leaning over and looking up. "On our way to the bar. We're visiting my Grandma."

"Meet you there."

Julie leaned on her own window, waving. "Hey Lyla." She seemed surprised. "Didn't know you moved back."

"We'll talk at the bar," Tim decided. He waved, driving off, glancing at Lyla, who was just smiling, amused. "What are the odds!"

"Yeah, what are the odds," she whispered, dry. She smiled again. "You are not using this as an excuse."

"Why would I do that? I am going to ask your Dad for permission to marry you."

"Good."

"Good." He pulled the truck into a parking space in front of the side entrance, climbing out and walking around to the front of the truck, pointing at her. "I'm doing this Garrity. With bells on. It's going the best asking for hand in marriage since like the 1600s."

"Good," Lyla drawled, opening up the door, gesturing for him to go inside. "Get in there. Make me proud."

"I'm waiting on Seven and Jules."

Lyla wrinkled her nose, grinning, shaking her head. "No," she said sweetly, snapping her fingers and pointing. "Get inside."

Tim growled. "Fine." He went straight to the bar and leaned over, grabbing a bottle of tequila and several empty glasses. "Hey Lori!" he yelled at the new bartender who took over for him after he quit a few years ago. "Getting some stuff, put it on the tab."

"Tim that's completely illegal to just reach over and take alcohol."

"Oh, well then, pretend you gave it to me." He waved, walking off to a table where Matt and Julie had already scoped out Lyla. He set it all down. "Okay, shots, are all on Buddy Garrity."

"Tim! You have to pay that tab one day."

"I don't think so." That tab was now like $1000. He smiled over at her. "It's a perk of dating the daughter of a bar owner, isn't it?" He dropped a kiss to her lips, arm around her shoulders. "I love you."

Lyla just lifted an eyebrow, pushing at his chest. "Go talk to my father."

"Need some liquid courage."

"For what?" Julie asked. She frowned, shrugging. "I didn't even know you guys were seeing each other again, bring us up to speed."

Lyla swallowed a sip of her beer, her arm on Tim's shoulder. "Tim and I have been seeing each other for the last year or so, I live in Austin, I'm an organ transplant coordinator there, Tim and I practically live together, and Tim and I are getting married…"

Matt and Julie both hurrahed for them both. "Congratulations!" Matt exclaimed, laughing. "That's awesome."

"Well," Lyla continued, giving him a death glare. "We will get married as soon as Tim talks to my father and does the official asking of the hand. He still doesn't even know we're as serious as we are, right baby?"

"Right," Tim agreed. He'd like to keep it that way, if it all possible. Buddy would leave him alone. He just swallowed another bit of his drink, hoping Lyla would get drunk enough to forget this whole thing.

Matt laughed, pouring the shots for them all. "Oh yeah, the dad permission thing. I know that look."

"What'd Coach say?" he asked.

Julie just lifted an eyebrow. "He said no, but that's because my dad is a sick and twisted individual. Tim, when you come back, can you get some water? I'm not drinking." She smiled knowingly over at Matt, who just looked stupid-happy.

Lyla let out a yell, throwing her arms in the air and stomping her feet, the heels of her boots clicking loudly. "Oh my God! You're pregnant?"

"Yes!" Julie laughed.

Then they did that girl thing Tim didn't understand where they got up and hugged each other and air-kissed and started babbling about girl things. He just shrugged at Matt's quizzical look. "I don't get it either." He grabbed a shot, tossing it back, reaching for a lime. He made a face and reached for another. "That didn't sit right."

"Tim! Stop stalling!" Lyla barked, pointing.

He whined, looking over at Buddy holding court with the Boosters. "No," he mumbled, reaching for another shot. He threw it back, grimacing, and then got up and walked over, but stopped at the bar to get a beer, using it as a prop. "Mr. Garrity."

"Tim! Just who I was looking for. What do you think of joining the Boosters? You're a proud member of Dillon society and I'm thinking that we need to get you involved some more."

It'd rather shoot myself in the face and then shove it in ground glass, Tim thought. "I will give it some thought. Do you have a second to talk?"

Buddy glared at him. "Tim, I think we can discuss this. I mean…" he laughed, smiling, with an evil glint in his eye. "You did bring my daughter back from a fellowship at Stanford University Hospital to work at UT, so…" He grinned wider. "I think you can give me some time to discuss this."

Damnit! "Yeah sure thing, can I get you another drink?"

"I think so, scotch." Buddy smiled again. "Get yourself one. Put it on my tab."

Tim narrowed his eyes, wondering what that smile was about. He nodded slowly, turning around to look over at Lyla, who just gave him a thumb's up. He scowled. "Yeah, that helps a lot," he mumbled, walking off to the bar to get Buddy and he supposed now, his, scotch.

* * *

"Oh my God."

"Get up."

"Lyla," he mumbled, holding the pillow over his head, mumbling into the mattress. "My sweet. My love. Darling. Baby. Best girlfriend ever. Please, please, please, can you get me some aspirin?"

"No."

He closed his eyes, removing the pillow and bracing himself for opening his eyes. He groaned, hitting his head back on the mattress. "Worst. Hangover. Ever."

"You clearly don't remember the great hangover of June 2009." Lyla yanked the pillow off his head, her hands on her hips. She was wearing one of his 33 jerseys, a long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of blue sweatpants, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun and socks that looked like pillows on her feet. It could not have been less sexy.

She gestured up and down. "See this? See how you see no skin? That's what's going to happen every night for the foreseeable future Tim Riggins. This is now not just about stupid tradition. This is about you facing my father and manning up, taking control."

"Why?" he demanded, scowling. "I don't get it."

Lyla sat on the edge of the bed, shaking her head, her voice quiet. "That's the thing Tim. You don't get it. You don't get what it means for me to see you go to my dad and tell him that no matter what he thinks of you, that you are in love with his daughter and you want to marry me and make me your wife forever and ever. It means something to me. It isn't about if he says yes or no, Tim. It's the gesture."

She got up off the bed, going into the bathroom. After some loud banging, she emerged in her terrycloth robe, throwing the bottle of aspirin at him. "I shouldn't have done that, but you look pathetic lying there in sheets with flowers on them."

Tim looked down at the sheets. He wondered how they got to Lyla's townhouse in Austin. That was four hours away from Dillon. He swallowed a handful of aspirin, getting up and stumbling into the bathroom.

A minute later, after passing out on the bathroom floor, he felt Lyla walk in, kicking his feet out of the way. "That's what every girl wants to see in her future husband." She rolled her eyes. "Octagon marks on his face from the bathroom floor."

"You are the best girlfriend ever," he mumbled, pointing at her as she got into the shower. He lifted his head a little, his voice weak. "Lyla, my heart, love of my life, can I come in there too?"

"I think you're talking to that other Lyla who is the love of your life. The one from like a million years ago who fell for your pathetic ass."

"Oh. Okay." He hit his head back on the porcelain rim of the toilet, calling back out to her over the sound of the shower, which was like someone slamming a hammer on the side of his head. "Can we go back in time and see her?"

"Not today Tim."

"Okay."

He took a deep breath and got to his feet, returning to the bedroom to get dressed. He shoved his sunglasses on and a baseball hat to hide any part of the sun from his view, getting into the cab of his truck, where Woola was sitting, barking.

He glared at the little pig-like dog. "We gotta' get one thing straight you alien mutt. There will be no barking. If you do bark, bark like a real dog!"

Woola just grumbled, settling down in the passenger seat.

"We'll get along just fine then."

* * *

Tim was beneath his truck when he heard the sound of clicking heels. Son of a bitch. He sighed, setting his tools down on either side, waiting for her to yank him out. "I have a bitch of a hangover Lyla, can we do this some other time?"

Someone grabbed hold of his feet, dragging him from beneath the truck on the skateboard he used to wheel himself beneath cars. He looked up, squinting against the sun. He smiled, long and slow. "You're not Lyla."

"Thank God," Tyra mumbled. She stepped backwards, pushing her sunglasses up on her forehead. "We need to talk."

"Okay." He sat up, wiping his hands on an oily rag. He shrugged. "So talk."

"Julie told me that you tried to ask Buddy Garrity's permission to marry Lyla? Instead, you ended up drinking too much and Lyla had to drag you back home. Matt said you were talking in riddles about commitment and crap."

Maybe he was, he had no idea. "Tyra, I'm not in the mood, so if you came here to judge and crap, fine. What are you even doing in Dillon?"

"I'm visiting my mom, she's been sick with the flu, don't change the subject." Tyra tossed her hair over her shoulder, glaring down at him. "I'm not going to pretend it didn't hurt again when you tossed me aside for Lyla, but let's face it, we were both being idiots thinking we'd end up together."

Maybe. He lifted his knees up, draping his arms over them. His voice was soft. "What do you want?"

"I want you to do whatever Lyla Garrity tells you to do. Even if you think its crap. She should have gone after something bigger and better. God knows I did." Tyra smiled, cocking her head. "You've had Julie and Matt show up to show you that commitment isn't a bad thing. Now you've got the ex-girlfriend. What more to do you need Tim? Grow up."

She walked away. "Douchbag."

"Classy!" he yelled after her, throwing the rag to the side. Damnit. She was right. He closed his eyes again, getting up and going back into the house, changing and cleaning up, heading off to Buddy's bar.

Once he got there, he went upstairs, stopping on his heels when he saw who was sitting in a chair across from Buddy's desk.

Hell, talk about a sign, he thought, eyes wide. "Coach Taylor?"

"Tim!" Eric exclaimed, chuckling and turning in his seat. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I…" he trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "I came to talk to you Mr. Garrity."

"About what Tim?"

"Well…" he took a deep breath, but Eric was looking at him curiously. This was too weird. "I want to invite you to the house. You too Coach Taylor. Tonight. I have something I need to talk to you about."

There. He smiled quickly. "There will be beer."

"Of course there will be," Buddy said, rolling his eyes. "My daughter gonna' be there?"

"Yup."

"I'll bring Tami, Gracie, Matt and Julie," Coach said.

Tim just smiled.

This was just going to be a disaster.


	2. Chapter 2

"One more shot," Matt said, passing him another one. He looked over. "Okay, he's laughing, that's good right?"

"He's Buddy," Tim croaked, swallowing his next shot. He looked over at Lyla, who was on her third. "You want a funnel Garrity?"

"I figured I need to do this with you," Lyla said, shaking her head and grimacing as she sucked on a lime wedge. She spoke around the wedge. "I felt bad about earlier." She threw it down, whooping and throwing her hands in the air. "Alright! Let's do this!" She clapped her hands. "Come on Riggins. Let's get us some permission to get hitched!"

"Tyra," Tim yelled, pushing Lyla into Tyra's arms. He pointed to the stairs. "Get her up there."

How was it he was the sane and sober one in this situation?

He turned away from Lyla, who was fighting to get away from Tyra. They never got her drunk for this reason. All she wanted to do was dance and she was a terrible dancer. He slipped through the throng of people who were beginning to show up. This wasn't supposed to be a party, but Billy invited people who invited people who invited people and now it had somehow become a damn rager.

Where was Buddy?

He looked over, seeing Eric and Buddy talking about something. Tami stormed up to him. "Uh oh," he whispered, swallowing hard. "Mrs. Coach."

"Why is my husband drunk with Buddy Garrity?"

"Uh…I don't know."

"I am holding you responsible for this Tim."

"Of course you are," he sighed, shaking his head. He tugged her into the study, closing the door behind him. "I'm trying to get Lyla to marry me."

"Oh!" Tami clapped her hands together, smiling behind them. She giggled. "You're going to ask for Buddy's permission?"

"Well now I am. Lyla's on it."

"WHAT!?"

He glanced at Tami. "That sounded like Buddy."

"Not in a good way either," Tami commented, walking back out into the living room, where Lyla was laughing at something. "Uh oh."

"Garrity!" he barked, walking quickly towards her. "What did you say?"

"You're going to get married!?" Buddy exclaimed.

Lyla pushed at his shoulder. "Yup. We're getting married. He's going to ask you and you're going to say yes and you're going to walk me down the aisle in my Jenny Packham dream wedding dress I already put on hold in New York City. What do you have to say to that Daddy?"

Buddy just gaped.

"Garrity, let's get you some water," Tim laughed, pushing her away.

"Tim we're not done with this!" Buddy yelled.

Yeah I figured. He got Lyla upstairs into bed and when he came back downstairs, Buddy was gone and so was the majority of everyone else. He sighed again, hands on his hips. "This place is a mess."

"We'll help you clean it up sweetheart," Tami said, patting his back. She pointed a figure at Eric. "Help them clean this up."

"What do I have to help?"

"Because I wanted to go to Florida for spring break and you wanted to come back to Texas, that's why."

"Oh."

That evening Tim sat up all night, staring at the ceiling, while Lyla snored beside him. He looked down at the end of the bed, where Woola was staring at him with his beady little black eyes.

This thing had gotten completely out of control.

* * *

"Oh my God."

"I still love you," Tim said, looking away from the mirror to the creature hugging the toilet bowl next to his feet. He dropped his razor onto the little dish, scowling at it. "Are you using my razor to shave your legs again? Because this is duller than it was the other day."

"Tim you only shave like once a month now, I don't care, I'm dying!" Lyla coughed again, groaning. "Can you get me some aspirin?"

He smiled, enjoying their reverse positions from the other day. "Worst hangover ever?"

"There was that one where I tried the vodka creamsicle martini thing in college that sucked pretty bad."

"That sounds disgusting," Tim said, opening up the medicine cabinet and removing the giant bottle of aspirin, a staple in the Riggins household. He dumped four onto the counter, setting it back inside and going to the nightstand to collect the bottle of water he'd set there for her this morning, which she'd completely ignored because she'd gone straight to the bathroom upon opening her eyes.

Lyla flushed the toilet, leaning back against the bathtub. She peered up at him, her hair stringy and makeup smeared around her eyes and lips. "Thank you," she mumbled, taking the water and aspirin.

She looked back up at him, releasing a long breath. "I still feel sick."

He just smiled, his arms crossing over his chest, leaning back against the bathroom door. "Sorry about that. I didn't drink a bottle of Petron."

"I did, didn't I?"

"Garrity you have a crazy streak that is going to make marriage with you very interesting."

"I crashed my car into my dad's dealership once," she mumbled around the bottle of water again. She coughed a few times, closing her eyes and groaning, her head in her hands. "I'm insane. I'm never drinking again."

He shrugged. "I've said that many, many times."

"Wait, marriage?" She lifted her head again, smiling. "You still want to marry me?"

"More and more every second." He climbed down to sit beside her, stretching his legs out to rest her back against them, stroking her hair. e

He smiled softly at her. "I got the ring already. You got the dress. Your dad just needs that official…whatever."

She opened up her eyes, smiling warmly. "You got the ring? Can I see it?"

"Not until I officially ask you," he said, smiling. He helped her up to her feet, patting her back, his arms going around her, looking at their reflection in the mirror, his chin on her shoulder. "I love you. I promise I'm not screwing this up."

She closed her eyes, nodding slowly. "Okay."

"That's it?" He frowned. Normally she would try to convince him further or tell him to stop screwing around. "You don't want to…give me more of a pep talk or anything?"

"I know you will do it Tim, because if you don't, then we have bigger problems." She turned around, her arms going around his neck, smiling a little bit. She closed her eyes, moaning a little, reaching to touch her temple. "And the next time I am ever this nauseous I better be pregnant."

"Yeah I'll get right on that," he joked. He blinked, staring at her face. "Wait…you're…not…are you?"

"God no Tim, but it's nice to see where you stand on the matter." She kissed his cheek, pushing him from the bathroom. "I need to brush my teeth and shower. Get out of here. Hurry up too, because I want to see this ring."

That you will particularly enjoy, he thought to himself, closing the bathroom door and getting Woola, quickly dressing and then heading out, back to Dillon.

* * *

The next day Tim walked onto the football field, knowing Lyla was at work, completely oblivious to him doing this. He went straight to Buddy, climbing into the golf cart next to him. "We need to talk."

"If it's about last night and my daughter getting drunk…"

"Not really, but this is a result of it." Tim cocked his head, lifting an eyebrow. He turned back to the field, his voice quiet. "Remember when I played out there Mr. Garrity? Remember when all I had was Friday night?"

Buddy sighed, nodding his yes. "Yeah Tim. I remember. I also remember…"

"Let me finish this, because it's hard for me to do." Tim took a deep breath, shaking his head. He reached up to pull off his sunglasses, slipping them in the collar of his black button-down shirt. "Mr. Garrity I had nothing in high school. Nothing but Lyla. She made me be that guy who didn't drink until four in the morning and sleep until four in the afternoon before getting back up and doing it again. When she left so did I. She came back. She came back and was willing to give me a second chance when quite honestly sir, you and I both know she should have just left me be."

Buddy chuckled, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah that's Lyla."

"That's Lyla, right." Tim sighed. He reached into his pocket, removing the black velvet box, tossing it into Buddy's hands. He was quiet, waiting for Buddy to open the box, revealing the diamond engagement ring.

It was probably the most expensive thing he'd ever bought and he wasn't planning on getting her a ring. Not until they'd gone into some antique store in New Orleans, when Lyla was there on business and he saw the ring. It was perfect. A diamond with two other diamonds on either side, looking like the band it was sitting it was twisted like a rose, holding the diamonds. The store owner said it was from France, from like a bazillion years ago or something like that.

Lyla saw it, she wanted it, but wouldn't buy it for herself. He went back later that evening while she was getting ready for her convention thing and bought it. "That's two carats of diamond right there Mr. Garrity. You and both know that Lyla will take a twist-tie, but it's just one thing I'm willing to do. To give her everything she wants."

He took another deep breath. "And she wants me to ask you for permission. We're going to do it anyway, but she wants me to make that gesture so here I am. You're not going to say no, are you?" He continued, not giving Buddy a chance to interrupt. "Because I'm in love with your daughter sir. I am and I have been for my whole life. I don't have much, just the house I built with my two hands and my construction business. Which is doing pretty well, but we know Lyla makes more than me. All I can give her is me, Mr. Garrity. I can try to give her anything else, but all she wants is me, so are you going to give us your blessing?"

He was quiet for a second, before he smiled, turning his head to Buddy. "Or do I have break this rule too?"

Buddy looked back down at the ring and closed the box, handing it back to him. "You strike a hard bargain Tim Riggins."

He felt his heart kind of jump in his throat. "So…"

"It means that I am not happy about this. You and I both know that I think you're a good guy and I stood up for you at your parole hearing and I've stood up for you through everything, but Lyla is my daughter." Buddy shook his head, looking back out onto the football field. He sighed again. "I'm not going to regret this, am I?"

Tim grinned wide. "No sir."

"You're not going to give my grandkids some weird names are you? Nothing fancy?"

"No sir."

"And if you cheat on her…"

"I'd kill myself before I did anything like that."

"And if you leave her somewhere…"

"I won't. I'll always come home with her."

"The drinking…"

"Under control sir."

Buddy scowled, wagging his beefy finger in his direction. "I think you're a good man Tim, but for my daughter, no one is good enough, so this is a big deal."

Tim laughed, climbing out of the golf cart. "Thank you Mr. Garrity."

"You can start calling me Buddy I guess."

No way in hell, Tim thought. He smiled a little. "I have one last favor sir."

Buddy glared. "What?"

"You know how you always wanted someone to get engaged on your Jumbotron? Stay tuned." Before Buddy could say anything, Tim turned and took off back to his truck.

He had a plan.

* * *

"Why are we at the football game?" Lyla asked, sitting in one of the front rows. She looked sideways at him. "You becoming a Booster or something?"

"No."

"Why is Tyra here?"

"She's visiting her mom."

"I thought she lived in Dallas. That's like eight hours away."

"She does live in Dallas. It is eight hours away, now shush and watch." Tim felt his foot start to jiggle, his boot heel clicking on the steel bleachers. He glanced at the scoreboard. It was almost halftime. They were doing some stupid thing for the 2006 Panthers. They had a new sign they were putting up, so some of the ones who were left in Dillon were helping out.

He looked backwards, up where Matt and Julie were sitting. Coach and Tami were beside them. He glanced back to the Jumbotron and then down to where Billy was speaking into his headset. Buddy was giving him the Evil Eye from his spot in the corner of the field, but that wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lyla poked his ribs. "You talk to my dad yet?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"What's that supposed to mean? Why are you so squirrely?"

He shrugged. "Dunno."

Lyla just rolled her eyes, but squeezed his hand, returning her attention to the football field. She applauded with everyone else when the quarter ended and got up, moving to step around him. "I'm going to go get some popcorn."

"No, sit. Just sit there." He glanced down at Billy, who turned around, giving him the thumb's up. He got up, pushing her back into her seat, where Tyra and Tami and Julie moved down to sit beside her. He grabbed hold of Seven, dragging him towards the field, glancing over, his eyes wide at the former Panther suddenly on the field with them. "Six!"

Jason laughed. "Hey! Billy called me. Said I might want to show up for this so I took the corporate jet. What's going on man?"

"Uh…sit there." He waited a second, glancing down at Jason's lifted eyebrow. "Well…don't wheel away." He took a deep breath, looking over to where Buddy was introducing the new stupid sign and calling them out one by one.

"And now," Buddy growled into the microphone. "The team has elected former fullback Tim Riggins to speak for the group." He shoved the microphone at him. "Don't screw this up."

Yeah, whatever, he thought, looking over at Lyla. He looked up at the stadium, grinning. "Hey everyone, don't mean to take up your time, but…so the 2006 Panthers say cool sign and you know, great colors and stuff, so, the sign's done, there, we like it. Um, I wanted to just take a moment to do something here…" He smiled, glancing at the Jumbotron, which now had focused in on Lyla, who was just gaping. "Something that I've been trying to do for awhile now and I finally did the one thing that was stopping someone from, from saying yes, so…" He grinned, looking at Lyla, who was now staring at him. "You always wanted me to put myself out there and show you, you know, so…the whole town of Dillon is here and I'm putting myself out there."

Lyla was already laughed, her eyes shining with tears. She closed her mouth, her hands clasped in front of her lips.

"So, Lyla Garrity…I talked to your dad and he's right there…" he pointed to Buddy who was still scowling. "And he gave us his blessing," he took a deep breath. Here it was. Last chance. One shot. No regrets. "Will you marry me?"

The entire stadium had gone silent and Lyla looked up at herself on the Jumbotron and then back down to him. She smiled, her lips pursing.

It felt like an entire eternity and finally, finally after what felt forever, Lyla just broke into a massive smile, nodding her head.

He barely saw her lips form the word "yes" before he was throwing his arms in the air, yelling and tossing the microphone aside, running up into the stands to grab her, spinning her around and planting the most passionate kiss he'd probably ever given her. Or anyone.

Lyla gripped the back of his hair, setting her feet back on the bleachers, fighting with his hand, her fingers trembling when he slipped the ring onto her finger. "Oh my God," she laughed, framing his face. She kissed him again. "I love you. I can't believe you did that."

"You wanted a gesture. So I gestured."

"In front of the entire town of Dillon, Texas," she screamed. She yelled again, waving and practically crawling over his shoulder. "And Jason! You brought Jason!"

He ignored the roar of applause and what was probably their faces plastered on the Jumbotron. At least Buddy got use out of the damn thing. "I'll do anything for you Garrity. Even embarrass both of us and your dad in front of the entire town. Just so long as you know that I will do anything for you. I love you. I'm not ruining this."

She smiled, her forehead against his. "You didn't ruin anything. You never did Tim." She kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you too." He tugged her hand, dragging her out of the stadium, waving at Buddy. "Later Mr. Garrity!"

"Bye Daddy! I love you! We'll talk about wedding budget tomorrow!" Lyla squealed when he flung her up into his arms, carrying her to the truck.

"Now to start the wedding planning," she giggled, kissing him hard on the lips. She waved her hands around. "I'm thinking spring wedding. With yellow flowers."

"Oh, okay."

"And you'll wear tails. And a tophat."

"Uh…what?"

Lyla laughed, kissing him again. "I'm just teasing. I love you."

"Lyla Garrity," Tim whispered, his lips brushing hers. "Do I have your permission to take you home and ravish you for the next three days?"

"Yes you do," Lyla giggled. She let out a yelp when he grabbed her again, spinning her in circles.

Maybe she would put him in a tophat, she thought, studying his grin. Or better yet, she'd stick him in some old-fashioned tuxedo. Or spats! Or maybe even a cowboy hat.

"Why are you looking weird?"

She just smiled. "Thinking of the possibilities."

**THE END**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, so it wasn't over :) I added more Coach in this one. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Well Buddy you finally got good use out of that Jumbotron." Eric smiled, tilting back his bottle of beer before setting it on the bar, looking over at his old friend. Once upon a time ago he would never have considered Buddy Garrity one of his closest friends. It was funny what time and well, losing sanity as you aged did to you.

Buddy scowled. "That was not what it was intended for."

"I think that's one of the things you told Tami as reason for the Jumbotron."

"I did no such thing."

"I could ask her, you know she doesn't forget anything." He made a move for his phone, but knew Tami wouldn't answer. She was with Julie and Matt and Lorraine, going to register for baby stuff at Dillon's first and only Target. He scowled at the idea of a grandchild. Gracie Belle wasn't even in middle school!

He looked back at Buddy, who still didn't seem happy. "You know Buddy, at least your daughter isn't married and pregnant before the age of 30."

"No, Eric, my daughter is marrying a Riggins. It's costing me a fortune too and Pam won't pay a damn cent of it, she thinks Lyla is being materialistic," Buddy said, reaching beneath the bar and dropping a book on it. He gestured to it. "This is what Lyla gave me. It's full of receipts and bills and all kinds of things."

"Is Tim paying for anything?" Eric asked, opening up the book, curious. Julie's wedding wasn't as much as he expected it to be, but they also kind of eloped with just 20 or so people in attendance. Most expensive thing was the airfare it took to fly people out.

"That's the thing Eric, Lyla won't let him pay. He makes more money than I do…"

"Whoa, Tim makes more money than you do?" Eric frowned. He last saw his former fullback wearing boots that he recognized from high school. He shook his head. "That seems weird, where is it all going?"

"Probably hidden in a floorboard under the mattress. Riggins even tried to tell me what to do with my money!"

Maybe you should listen if he has more than you do, Eric wondered, but didn't say anything, flicking through the book. Why he was here, he really didn't know. There was nothing better to do and he wasn't going to go register for baby stuff. He frowned at one bill. "This wedding seems like it's at least going to be classier than the last Riggins wedding we attended."

"At least Lyla is classy," Buddy agreed. He scowled again. "Riggins and my daughter. I thought that was over with a long time ago."

"The heart wants what it wants."

"Yeah, I just wished she didn't want a Riggins."

Eric was about to say that he wished once upon a time ago that Julie didn't want Matt Saracen and now look how it all turned out, when the door to the bar opened. He lifted his beer, grinning. "Congratulations! You're about to make one of the best and biggest mistakes of your life."

Tim just leaned against the bar, glaring at the giant book of bills. "You seen Lyla today?" he asked Buddy. "Beware. Her dress doesn't fit. Needs to be taken out. She's starving herself."

"This is your fault Tim Riggins."

"It always is," Tim sighed, reaching over and taking a bottle of beer, cracking the cap expertly. He smiled at Buddy. "Put it on my tab."

"You have to pay that tab one day."

"I will." Tim totally lied. He wasn't paying off that tab now as a matter of principle. What principle, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to do it. Even if now he did have more money than Buddy, if only because somehow he was good with stocks.

Buddy shook his head, looking back at Eric and jerking his thumb towards Tim, who was just as laid back as ever. "He's getting married in a week and he doesn't care at all."

"I care," Tim protested. He smiled a little. "I just choose not to let it get to me."

Eric smiled again. He nodded to Tim. They really had to have a chat. Matt was running away from him whenever they were going to have Matt chats, so maybe he could impart some wisdom on Tim. He did the same thing for Matt the minute before he let that boy walk out to marry his daughter.

He finished his beer, nudging the bottle away and folding his arms on the bar, turning towards Tim. "We have to have a little chat son."

Tim's eyes got wide. "We do?"

"Yes. We do. Sometime in the next week."

"Okay." Tim appeared nervous. He glanced back at Buddy. "You don't want to talk Mr. Garrity?"

"Oh I will Tim. I certainly will." The phone upstairs rang, so Buddy ran off to get it, leaving Tim and Eric alone.

Eric was about to suggest they talk in a couple days when he was free of the womenfolk, maybe the two of them and Matt could get a drink, when the bar door opened. Tim immediately froze.

"Riggins!"

"Uh oh."

Eric peered around him at Lyla, who didn't seem happy. She marched in, with a bulldog on a leash beside her, panting. He just looked down at the dog, waved, and returned his attention to what was going on between Riggins and Lyla, which he didn't notice before in the past, but which were becoming great forms of entertainment.

He leaned back on his elbow, smiling to himself. Young love, he thought, remembering him and Tami. It didn't really go away, it just grew with you.

"I took him to the groomer, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you took him to the groomer and you got him this!" Lyla grabbed something out of her purse, holding up a bowtie. She lifted an eyebrow. "Our dog is not going to be in our wedding."

"He's part of the family Ly-La!" Tim shouted back, emphasizing the syllables of her name.

Ooh, bad move, Eric thought, frowning. Lyla drew back immediately, pushing the tie towards him and handing the leash over. "Fine, he can be in the wedding, you can walk him down the aisle, whatever."

"Fine." Tim leaned down and picked up the bulldog with a grunt. "At least this Garrity likes me."

Lyla sighed, reaching to kiss him lightly. "I'll talk to my dad."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Lyla."

"No I will, don't worry about it." She kissed him again, turning her head when Buddy walked into the room and loudly dropped a box on the floor. "Daddy," she growled. "We'll talk later." She waved, smiling warmly. "Bye Coach Taylor, it's nice to see you, I hope you're staying for the wedding?"

"Wouldn't dream of missing seeing this one get hitched," he said, nodding towards Tim, chuckling to himself. "Bye Lyla."

"Bye." Lyla dropped another kiss to Tim's lips. "Bye baby, see you tonight."

Tim blew out a hard breath, calling out to her. "I'm not wearing that stupid tie!" He rolled his eyes when she didn't respond, just closed the door behind her. He turned back around again, hands on his hips, holding the leash to the bulldog, and who was now sniffing around the bar.

Buddy sighed. "Tim if that dog does anything in here, I'm blaming you."

"Yeah, we'll get out of here, come on Woola. See you Coach."

Eric waited until Tim left before he turned to Buddy, frowning a little. "You know," he said, his voice quiet. "You keep treating him as not good enough for your daughter and he might start to believe it. The only person who will be happy is you, but your daughter is going to be unhappy." He smiled a little, shaking his head. "Take it from someone who tried to say no over and over again. All it got me was a daughter who was mad at me and was still going to marry the guy anyway."

He got up, setting down some money for his beer, smiling at little at Buddy's suddenly unsure face. "See you around Buddy."

Buddy leaned against the bar, frowning to himself. He sighed, looking at the giant book of bills. His little girl wanted her dream wedding, so he was letting her have it.

He supposed he had to deal with the fact that her dream guy was the one from his nightmares.

* * *

"This place looks like it might actually be ready for a wedding."

Tim looked up from where he was hiding near the dock, looking up and smiling. "Coach."

"You blew off our chat with Matt, who I might add is terrified of the Matt chat." Eric sat down beside him on the bench, opening up a bottle of scotch and pouring them both two plastic cups halfway full. He looked down at Woola, who was panting, the bulldog watching them curiously.

"I wouldn't do it, I gave him beer once and didn't hear the end of it when he threw up in Lyla's shoes. Something called Choos."

"Jimmy Choo? I can't believe she didn't break up with you then."

"What the hell is a Jimmy Choo?"

"It's a shoe."

"A shoe? She said they cost four hundred dollars."

Eric shook his head, passing Tim the cup of scotch. "Tim you learn many things you never want to know in marriage. I know Buddy has probably talked to you about it…"

"Not really, he just told me if I do anything to Lyla he'll murder me, burn me alive, and spread my ashes on the football field the next time it gets fertilized," Tim said, sipping the scotch. He shrugged. "Could be worse ways to go."

"Well, let me give you the information that Buddy Garrity will not nor can he," Eric said, taking a sip of his scotch. He looked out towards the white house on the hill, as Tami called it. The chairs were already set up and the flowers and the altar. He frowned. "Where's Lyla tonight?"

"In the house, I'm going to Billy's once I'm done," Tim said, nodding back towards the house, where the rehearsal dinner was starting to disperse. He smiled a little. "And Billy's already talked to me about marriage, Coach, you don't have to do this."

"I want you to forget everything your brother has told you."

"Done, sir."

He smiled a little, leaning back, turning his cup of scotch around a few times before he turned, his voice dead serious. "Do not ever hurt her. You listen to her. She will become…" he thought of Tami, smiling a little. "Your other half. The one you talk to when you need advice. You will never go to another person for advice again. Not good advice. Your wife is the one person who will always support you, even if what you're doing is stupid. You will always support her. You would lay down your life for her, she would do the same for you. She will become your confidant, your best friend, and the only person to understand you. You will be that for her."

He took another deep breath, slowly letting it out. "Marriage is not easy Tim. I know you tend to give up when things get difficult and when you don't like what is happening but this is not something where you can run off to the bar. It will always be there in the morning. You can't just ignore things. Marriage is difficult. There are times when you want to scream, when you want to run away, but you have to keep going on. You never go to bed angry, you always talk it out even if it takes you until two or three in the morning before you come to an agreement on something." He smiled a little. "And when you have kids we'll have another talk because that's something else entirely."

He looked down at the cup of scotch. "And if you ever need anything Tim, do not go to Billy for advice on marriage."

Tim smiled a little, nodding. "Thank you sir," he whispered. He looked away and then back to the house. "Thank you for…for everything."

That was all-encompassing, so Eric took it, clinking his cup against Tim's. "And all I can say is good luck Tim. It's an adventure, but one I think you are ready for."

And that was all that had to be said, Eric thought, sipping his scotch and looking up at the stars in the big Texas sky.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm going to be sick," Lyla whispered, taking a few deep breaths, her hand on her stomach. She released the breath, looking up when the door opened. "Daddy."

Her mother just glared over her shoulder, but she'd given both of them a set of rules that they were to be civil on her wedding day. "Buddy," she growled.

"Pam," Buddy growled back. He nodded towards Lyla. "You look beautiful baby."

"Thank you," she gasped, taking another breath. She swallowed hard, turning around and smiling wide. "How's Tim?"

"Billy gave him his calm-him-down shot."

"Just one!" she exclaimed.

"Well he used it up this morning, so now he's pacing ridiculously because he can't get drunk."

That sounded about right. Lyla closed her eyes, reaching to touch her forehead. The light and airy designer gown she'd seen on Madison Avenue and had to have for her wedding was fitted perfectly, but she was a little annoyed she had to have it let out just a pinch. Just a little annoyed. She touched the silver clasped on the belt that wrapped around the waist, which dropped into a silk skirt to her feet. It had cap sleeves of lace, which brought down into the V of the front and covered her back.

There was no train, just a thin tulle veil attached to her hair with a jeweled clip. Her hair was tied back in a loose knot, to show off the back of the dress. She took her bouquet from her mother, holding the yellow and white arrangement of spring flowers tightly. "I'm ready," she whispered, looking at both of her parents, who both looked ready to burst into tears. "It's okay," she laughed, reaching to hug both of them.

Pam just wiped at her eyes, shaking her head and grinning. "I'll leave you here. We already had our talk."

"Yes Mom, we did and I'm scarred for life, thank you." Lyla sighed, shaking her head as her mother left. She smiled at her father, holding his hand tightly in hers. "You ready for this Daddy?"

"Oh baby I don't think I am ready for giving you away." Buddy shook his head. "Especially to Tim, as much as I like the guy."

They left the room where she'd gotten ready, going downstairs and into the living room, where the French doors were closing, the music changing from the simple, airy violin music she'd chosen to play as her maid of honor, her sister, and Billy, the best man, walked down the aisle, with Billy's youngest, little Johnny the ring-bearer walking Woola in his dog tuxedo.

Buddy wasn't one for great shows of emotion unless they were on the football field, but he felt fairly emotional now. He linked his arm through his daughter's, covering her forearm with his. "Lyla," he whispered. He took a deep breath, smiling down at her. "I know I…I put on a show about Tim sometimes, but…you have never been happier than with him and I am very proud of you and…and all I want is for you to be happy."

She smiled, looking up through her veil, her eyes sparkling. "Daddy…thank you. I love you." She leaned over, kissing his cheek, grinning.

The music changed and the French doors opened.

Buddy looked down the yellow carpet runner, at everyone standing and looking at Lyla, and had to smile himself when he saw the slightly terrified but ecstatic look on Tim's face. For a kid who had nothing, Buddy was glad that at least his daughter was able to help.

He still had to give Tim one last 'fatherly' glare when he gave Lyla's hand over at the altar. "Tim so help me," he threatened, one last time. He had to smile when he got Tim's smile in return.

And he stepped aside, taking his seat and watched his daughter get married off.

* * *

"Isn't this just sweet?" Tami whispered into his ear, watching Tim and Lyla dance their first dance, as the sun set behind them. She smiled. "You look just like you did when Julie got married, just less depressed."

"I wasn't depressed, don't say I was depressed, I was happy for Julie."

"You were happy, but she was much younger than these guys are," Tami said, her arms linked around his shoulders, her chin on his. She smiled a little. "We were just kids. Can you believe we've made it this far?"

He glanced sideways, nodding. "I think I can."

Tami wiped at her eyes, shaking her head. "It's just so nice that two people can find each other. Even after so long a time."

"How long was it again?" he asked, frowning a little when Lyla whispered something to Tim, who stopped in his tracks, but then suddenly let out a grin, saying something to her before they spun around in circles again. Huh. It really didn't seem that long to him. Of course he tended to just get sucked into these things, even living over two-thousand miles away would seem like he wouldn't be involved at all.

"I think Julie told me 10 years."

"Wow. It does seem a long time."

Tami narrowed her eyes again, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "Well how about that," she whispered, letting go of him.

He frowned, turning his head. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me, what?"

Tami rolled her eyes, chuckling. "It's just a hunch."

"What hunch?" He held his hand up. "Wait a second. Is this something that I really shouldn't know? Or don't want to know for that matter?"

"You might like it, but no, you don't have to know it."

"I'll just wait then, thank you." Although he did want to know what she noticed. He applauded with everyone else when they finished dancing and took hold of Gracie, who had been begging him to dance the minute they could.

After a few hours of general craziness, because while Lyla's ceremony was classy and beautiful, it was a Riggins wedding, Eric returned to his seat, taking Tami's hand into his, looking up towards the wedding party table for the toasts.

Lyla's sister got up and told her how proud she was to have a big sister like her, Billy got up and basically told Tim not to screw it up and if he did, he'd be on Lyla's side, even if they were brothers. It did get a little emotional and Eric was just glad that Billy was recognizing just the kind of man he had for a little brother. Tim was still far and away more mature than Billy.

And that was saying something, he thought.

"Never give Tim a microphone," Julie piped up from across the table, her hand on her stomach. She rolled her eyes. "He's probably going to say something stupid."

"Jason already told him what he can and can't say," Matt commented.

Eric and Tami just exchanged a look. He shook his head. "I'm not making any bets."

"So I wanted to just say that…" Tim lifted his glass, turning towards Lyla. "That I think I might have married the love of my life today and…and all I want to say, because you know me and talking about my feelings, is…I hope that we can be…" he looked over, smiling at the both of them. "Like the next Coach and Mrs. Taylor and that's a compliment Mrs. Taylor."

"Thank you Tim!" she called out, grinning wide.

"And...I know it's going to be awesome and fun and…well I know it will be, because…" Tim whooped, throwing his arms in the air, yelling without the help of the microphone. "Garrity-Riggins Number One is on the way! We got ourselves another Riglet!"

The entire wedding went up in cheers and laughter, save for two people.

Buddy looked ready to faint.

And Lyla let out a horrified yell. "You idiot I wasn't ready to tell everyone yet!" she bellowed, throwing her bouquet at him.

"Oh, why not?"

Eric gaped at Tami, who was laughing and cheering with everyone else. "That's what you saw?"

"You can tell, it's why her dress had to get let out."

"Unbelievable. Tim's going to be the only man in the world who is going to be sleeping alone on his wedding night," he commented, as Tim tried to calm Lyla down, but she was in full-on fight mode, storming away and yelling something about marrying into morons, while their dog barked around their feet.

In the end, they made up, because they were newlyweds, which Eric still kind of thought he and Tami might be.

He glanced down at her, smiling. "I love you."

She cocked her head, smiling back up at him. "I love you too."

* * *

"So what did you and Coach talk about?"

Tim shrugged, his hand on Lyla's flat stomach, wondering if there really was a person in there. He consulted the book on the other side of her, which she'd set down a few minutes before after he crawled into bed. "That looks like a fish."

"The baby is kind of a fish right now," Lyla said, smiling a little. She set the book aside. "You don't want to read that book. You'll never want to sleep with me again."

"That would never happen. I always want to sleep with you. Even when we weren't together I wanted to sleep with you."

Lyla smiled, flicking the book towards the end, describing birth. She found one photo, in all its color glory, and turned it towards him. "Even after you see that up close and personal?"

"Oh my God!" Tim yelled, wanting to throw up. He made a gagging sound. "What is that? It looks like an alien."

"That's a baby being born. I told you. It's going to quickly become your least favorite body part on me."

"I like other parts of you more."

She turned to another picture of his favored part on her, shoving it back in his face. "After the baby does this to them?"

"What did that kid do?" Tim exclaimed. He looked down at her stomach. "Do not make Mommy look like this!" He threw the book aside, leaning back over her, smiling and kissing her softly. "How you doing?"

"I am wonderful," she whispered, her arms linking around his neck. She smiled again, kissing him lightly. "What did you and Coach talk about, the night before the wedding? I saw you guys talking down by the pond."

"That was like two weeks ago."

"What can I say, our honeymoon kind of made me forget certain things," she teased, kissing him again. She rested her forehead to his. "My dad has requested the honor of your presence at the bar tomorrow. He wants to talk to you about what it takes to be a good father. You are to ignore everything he says."

"Already done, along with what Billy told me." He kissed her again, his forehead touching hers. He reached down between them, his hand covering her stomach again, his fingers spreading out. He could feel her stomach grumbling and smiled a little. "You know," he whispered, falling back onto his side, tugging her against him. "Coach said something and maybe we've only been married two weeks, but…I kind of think it's already happened."

"Oh?"

He nodded, his nose brushing hers. He smiled against her lips. "He said that…that you'd become my other half."

Lyla kissed him gently, her hand going to cup his cheek. She nodded, her eyes closed. "I know," she whispered. She smiled a little, her voice quiet. "Mrs. Taylor told me something very similar."

"But he's wrong," Tim whispered. He took her left hand into his, fiddling with the rings now pushed against her knuckle. He glanced down at his, which didn't feel all that weird, not like how he thought it might. "Garrity." He smiled warmly against her lips. "You already were."

She had to agree with that, her arms going around him, holding close. She covered her stomach with her hand, her fingers folding into his. "You know my dad is going to be all over the both of us throughout this thing, right?"

"Six and a half months of fun Garrity."

"Fun?" she giggled.

He just laughed, kissing her before blowing raspberries on her neck. She screamed, laughing and kicking her feet in the air. Woola barked, jumping up from his pillow in the corner of the room to join them, wagging his fat stub of a tail which forced his entire body to shake.

Lyla was about to grab hold of Tim to kiss him again when her phone went off. She leaned over, hoping it wasn't work, and rolled her eyes at the number. "Daddy," she drawled, answering the phone. "It's…ten in the evening, what do you want?"

"I wanted to call and make sure that you were getting enough calcium."

"Daddy," she mumbled, her face burrowing into her pillow, Tim coming up behind her to massage the back of her neck, where the dull ache was already beginning to form. She blew out a hard breath, lifting her head up. "Daddy I'm getting enough calcium."

"Okay, because the book says…"

"Daddy put the book away."

"Lyla, this is my first grandchild and I will not…"

She hissed, jumping up quickly, to knock Tim backwards. "I dare you to finish that sentence if it has anything to do with your first grandchild being born a Riggins."

Buddy was silent. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Good night Lyla. Get eight hours of sleep."

"Thank you Daddy. I love you." She hung up before Buddy could sneak in one more crack about the other half of his first grandchild. She tossed her phone aside, returning to her back and pulling Tim back over her again. "This is going to be a very long six and a half months," she sighed.

Tim lifted his shoulder. "We could always move."

"That's an option," she laughed, rubbing at Woola's neck, the bulldog lolling on his back. She looked up, rolling her eyes. "I love you."

He leaned in, kissing her. "I love you too."

The phone went off about ten seconds later. When Lyla saw it was her father, she just chuckled.

At least he cared.

* * *

Okay, now it's _**THE END**_ :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: ** I extended this story for fun while I was going through some writer's block with my newest multichapter story. Probably didn't need to continue, but eh, whatever, it's all for fun. It's along the same silly lines as the earlier chapters. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Tim please, I need you to do this for me."

Tim made a face, looking across the room at where Lyla was trying to button up her suit pants. "Lyla I think you need some new clothes, you're not as skinny as you were before," he commented, not thinking about what he just said until after he said it. He looked up. "Uh oh."

Lyla appeared ready to kill him, her knuckles white on the waistline of her pants. She trembled, her lips quivering, and Tim wondered if she was going to scream. Instead, she just burst into tears, walking right towards him. "I can't wear any of my clothes!" she sobbed, crawling onto the bed and burying herself into his side, her nose shoved into his chest. "This is your fault!"

That had been one of her new favorite sayings. When she had to pee twenty times a day, it was his fault, when she couldn't sleep, it was his fault. Now she couldn't wear clothes, so it was his fault.

"I'm sorry," he just chose to say, because Coach Taylor told him that would soon become one of his most used sayings. Same for Six. And Seven. And Billy. Even if he didn't think it was his fault. She was the one who was eating for two when she really didn't have to, the doctor said.

Lyla got off the bed, disappearing into the closet and emerging wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt over her adorable little baby belly, which she didn't think was adorable but he did. "I'm not going to work," she protested, walking across the room into the bathroom.

Damn, she was starting to waddle too.

Tim kept that to himself. He glanced at Woola, who was hiding beneath a pillow. "Coward," he mumbled, looking up at Lyla, who appeared again the doorway. He put a fake smile on his face. "You do look beautiful Lyla."

"Shut up," she snapped, going back into the closet and returning in a sweater and a pair of leggings. She grabbed her high heels, shoving her feet into them and standing, her hands on her hips, her belly jutting forward. It was rather big now, Tim thought, consulting his handbook for future fathers, which Six gave him. Yup, right on schedule for size.

He glanced at the book and then back to her. "You know you look real good."

"Bite me Riggins."

Apparently she didn't agree.

Lyla left the room and he followed, Woola deciding to get up and follow him, woofing as he tumbled down the staircase on his short fat legs. She looked down at the dog and back up to him. "I need you to do this Tim. Please?"

"Lyla, I really don't think it's necessary."

"It is necessary; you know how my father is being."

Oh he knew. It had been two and a half months of phone calls and drop-in visits to check on her, make sure he hadn't done something like, well, Tim had no idea. He scrubbed at his face, nodding and smiling a little. "Okay." Just always answer yes. Coach Taylor told him that.

She'd probably forget by the end of the day anyway.

Tim went over to the laptop sitting open on the kitchen island. He studied the markets for a second and then typed in his password, moving some money around. He smiled a little, watching the numbers tick up.

Lyla filled her travel coffee cup, frowning over at him. "You know Tim I never would have thought you'd have been good at managing the markets. You failed math three times and once had the bright idea to steal from meth addicts. Not to mention all your other hair-brained schemes with Billy."

"It's like a game and I'm good at it."

"It is money, not a game, please keep that in mind before you lose everything we have."

He shrugged; they'd had this conversation before and he didn't feel like fighting, turning off the computer and leaning against the counter, frowning at the amount of coffee. "That decaf?"

"I can have one cup of real coffee," Lyla snapped.

Every day, he thought like adding. He just pursed his lips for her to kiss them, patting her belly. Lyla grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and reaching for her car keys. He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm not doing it Lyla."

"Tim, please."

"Lyla, I am not telling your father its cool for him to be in the delivery room. Because it's not. It's gross, actually."

"You know my dad will want to be there and it's not for the birth, just the labor, I need you to do this so that we can kick him out. Makes him feel loved and gets him off my back about it anyway."

"That makes no sense and you know I'm not as smart as you, but still…no sense."

Lyla's UNOS phone went off. She picked it up. "Dillon Regional, Dr. Lyla Garrity," she answered.

"You are not using organ donation crap to get out of this conversation!" he yelled.

She just pretended she didn't hear him, wiggling her fingers in his direction as she spoke into the phone, turning and leaving, the door slamming loudly behind her.

Tim reached for his phone, studying the 20 different messages he had from various construction sites his company was working. He returned several of them, closed on a couple of the houses he'd flipped in a fancy neighborhood in Austin, and returned to his accounts, watching the deposits roll in.

What did Billy call him? The Dillon Donald Trump. Yeah right. He had better hair and wasn't a total tool.

He whistled for Woola, picking up the bulldog and holding him under his arm. "God, you're getting heavy, you gaining pregnancy pounds too?" he mumbled, carrying him out to the truck and shoving him inside. "Let's make the rounds."

Anything to postpone dealing with his father-in-law.

* * *

It really made no sense, Tim decided, sitting in the bleachers at the football game, looking out at the new prospects. He glanced sideways at Lyla, who was plowing her way through what had to be the biggest soft pretzel and nachos he'd seen. He reached for a nacho, only for her to slap his hand away. "Ow!"

"Your child is starving," Lyla said through a mouthful of processed cheese sauce. She swallowed hard, looking at Mindy. "Was it like this with you? I'm hungry all the time!"

"No, not really."

Tim snorted. "Sure." He braced himself, already expecting the slap upside the head, which he got a second later. He leaned over to kiss Lyla. "I love you." He rubbed the underside of her belly, which seemed to have expanded to twice its size from two weeks earlier. Apparently the baby went through a growth spurt in the sixth month.

"Don't touch me, I'm still mad at you."

Why, he wondered, looking down at Buddy, who was glaring at him. "Oh." Now he remembered. "It's because I haven't talked to your dad about being in the delivery room, right?"

"No!" Lyla turned to face him. She narrowed her eyes. "It's because you couldn't keep off of me and now I'm toting around a bowling ball for nine months."

He rolled his eyes. How many times was he the one who actually wanted to get laid? Usually it was her. He was going to say so when he felt someone slap him upside the head again. "Hey!" he barked, turning to see Seven sitting beside him. "Seven!" He narrowed his eyes. "You do that again and I'll break your painting hand."

"Yeah, yeah," Matt said, smiling a little. "What's up Riggins? Hey Lyla!"

"Hey Matt! Is Julie here?"

"She's with my grandma and the baby."

Lyla and Mindy instantly began to melt and coo, jumping up and moving as fast as Lyla could waddle to go find the baby.

Matt nodded towards Lyla. "So how far is she now?"

"Six months and a few weeks," Tim answered. He drew back, surprised at how quickly he had the answer. He reached into his pocket and removed his phone, turning it towards Matt. "Look."

Matt laughed. "You have a kid with a sense of humor."

"I know. Lyla's not happy the doctor gave me this photo." Tim smiled down at the black and white sonogram of his kid mooning the ultrasound, a hand looking like it was pointing at the butt. "Baby says to kiss his ass."

"You know yet?"

"No," he grumbled. The damn kid was always upside down or backwards or turned sideways with a leg up so no one could see if it was a girl or a boy. Lyla wanted to do something that would figure it out, but the doctor said it wasn't medically necessary. So they were stuck waiting.

He shoved his phone away, sighing down at Buddy at the end of the field. He patted Matt's shoulder. "Alright, I'm out of here."

"What about Lyla?"

"She and Mindy have become like best friends or something since Lyla said she needed a friend who knew what it was like to carry the Riggins DNA which she said was something like a national goodwill act or something, I don't know."

He left Matt, going down to the field. "Mr. Garrity," he greeted him.

"Tim. Why aren't you with Lyla? It's hot out tonight, she shouldn't be walking."

"She's fine, she's eating the concession stand out of food."

Buddy shot him a look and then glanced at Lyla, who was returning with a giant spool of cotton candy. "Yeah, you might be right." He frowned again. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, well…I came to ask you something." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes tight. "Lyla wants you in the delivery room."

Buddy turned immediately towards him, his eyes wide as saucers. "Really?" he exclaimed. "No joking Tim?"

"No joking," he said, trying to smile, but it was probably more of a grimace. He swallowed hard, smiling weakly. "Yeah, she…she wants you there. So…see you in two and a half months," he mumbled, trying to get away, but Buddy grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt, bringing him back over. "Anything else Mr. Garrity?"

"Yeah, actually Tim, there is." Buddy took a few steps away from the football field, as though that would afford them any amount of privacy standing in front of the entire damn town. He turned slightly, frowning. "Is there any way you can convince Lyla to stop working? I just think of her on her feet all day and that can't be good for the baby."

I would rather shoot myself in the face, Tim thought, put he put on a smile and lifted this thumb up. "Couldn't agree more myself. I'll talk to her."

"You're a good man Tim. A family man."

Yeah right, Tim thought, turning away from Buddy and going back to the bleachers, where Lyla had moved on to a King Size bag of Skittles. He sat beside her, smiling. "Hi."

"Hi," she drawled, her eyes narrowed. She nodded to Buddy. "To talk to my Dad?"

"I did. You better know what you're doing."

"The invite is enough Tim. Then I can kick him out at a later date. It makes him feel included." She rolled her eyes, her head resting on his shoulder. She hissed, jumping up and giggling. "Baby's kicking! Feel!" She grabbed his hand, shoving it beneath her belly, where he felt the familiar punch against his palm.

He grinned, kissing her cheek. "He's kicking hard."

"She," Lyla said, kissing him back. She smiled again. "Of course, I don't think the Riggins family can have anything other than boys."

He hoped so.

A girl was kind of terrifying.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Enjoy :) Again, stupid shenanigans fic. There's another couple chapters I felt like writing, just for giggles.

* * *

It really made no sense, Tim decided, sitting in the bleachers at the football game, looking out at the new prospects. He glanced sideways at Lyla, who was plowing her way through what had to be the biggest soft pretzel and nachos he'd seen. He reached for a nacho, only for her to slap his hand away. "Ow!"

"Your child is starving," Lyla said through a mouthful of processed cheese sauce. She swallowed hard, looking at Mindy. "Was it like this with you? I'm hungry all the time!"

"No, not really."

Tim snorted. "Sure." He braced himself, already expecting the slap upside the head, which he got a second later. He leaned over to kiss Lyla. "I love you." He rubbed the underside of her belly, which seemed to have expanded to twice its size from two weeks earlier. Apparently the baby went through a growth spurt in the sixth month.

"Don't touch me, I'm still mad at you."

Why, he wondered, looking down at Buddy, who was glaring at him. "Oh." Now he remembered. "It's because I haven't talked to your dad about being in the delivery room, right?"

"No!" Lyla turned to face him. She narrowed her eyes. "It's because you couldn't keep off of me and now I'm toting around a bowling ball for nine months."

He rolled his eyes. How many times was he the one who actually wanted to get laid? Usually it was her. He was going to say so when he felt someone slap him upside the head again. "Hey!" he barked, turning to see Seven sitting beside him. "Seven!" He narrowed his eyes. "You do that again and I'll break your painting hand."

"Yeah, yeah," Matt said, smiling a little. "What's up Riggins? Hey Lyla!"

"Hey Matt! Is Julie here?"

"She's with my grandma and the baby."

Lyla and Mindy instantly began to melt and coo, jumping up and moving as fast as Lyla could waddle to go find the baby.

Matt nodded towards Lyla. "So how far is she now?"

"Six months and a few weeks," Tim answered. He drew back, surprised at how quickly he had the answer. He reached into his pocket and removed his phone, turning it towards Matt. "Look."

Matt laughed. "You have a kid with a sense of humor."

"I know. Lyla's not happy the doctor gave me this photo." Tim smiled down at the black and white sonogram of his kid mooning the ultrasound, a hand looking like it was pointing at the butt. "Baby says to kiss his ass."

"You know yet?"

"No," he grumbled. The damn kid was always upside down or backwards or turned sideways with a leg up so no one could see if it was a girl or a boy. Lyla wanted to do something that would figure it out, but the doctor said it wasn't medically necessary. So they were stuck waiting.

He shoved his phone away, sighing down at Buddy at the end of the field. He patted Matt's shoulder. "Alright, I'm out of here."

"What about Lyla?"

"She and Mindy have become like best friends or something since Lyla said she needed a friend who knew what it was like to carry the Riggins DNA which she said was something like a national goodwill act or something, I don't know."

He left Matt, going down to the field. "Mr. Garrity," he greeted him.

"Tim. Why aren't you with Lyla? It's hot out tonight, she shouldn't be walking."

"She's fine, she's eating the concession stand out of food."

Buddy shot him a look and then glanced at Lyla, who was returning with a giant spool of cotton candy. "Yeah, you might be right." He frowned again. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, well…I came to ask you something." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes tight. "Lyla wants you in the delivery room."

Buddy turned immediately towards him, his eyes wide as saucers. "Really?" he exclaimed. "No joking Tim?"

"No joking," he said, trying to smile, but it was probably more of a grimace. He swallowed hard, smiling weakly. "Yeah, she…she wants you there. So…see you in two and a half months," he mumbled, trying to get away, but Buddy grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt, bringing him back over. "Anything else Mr. Garrity?"

"Yeah, actually Tim, there is." Buddy took a few steps away from the football field, as though that would afford them any amount of privacy standing in front of the entire damn town. He turned slightly, frowning. "Is there any way you can convince Lyla to stop working? I just think of her on her feet all day and that can't be good for the baby."

I would rather shoot myself in the face, Tim thought, put he put on a smile and lifted this thumb up. "Couldn't agree more myself. I'll talk to her."

"You're a good man Tim. A family man."

Yeah right, Tim thought, turning away from Buddy and going back to the bleachers, where Lyla had moved on to a King Size bag of Skittles. He sat beside her, smiling. "Hi."

"Hi," she drawled, her eyes narrowed. She nodded to Buddy. "To talk to my Dad?"

"I did. You better know what you're doing."

"The invite is enough Tim. Then I can kick him out at a later date. It makes him feel included." She rolled her eyes, her head resting on his shoulder. She hissed, jumping up and giggling. "Baby's kicking! Feel!" She grabbed his hand, shoving it beneath her belly, where he felt the familiar punch against his palm.

He grinned, kissing her cheek. "He's kicking hard."

"She," Lyla said, kissing him back. She smiled again. "Of course, I don't think the Riggins family can have anything other than boys."

He hoped so.

A girl was kind of terrifying.

* * *

"I hate you," Lyla cried, sniffing and wiping at her eyes, stomping out of the kitchen. "I can't believe you forgot!"

Buddy looked over at Tim, who was just ignoring her. "What did you forget?"

"Nothing," Tim said. He glanced at Coach Taylor, who was just looking him, his face impassive. He held his arms out, turning towards Jason, who was in town visiting his parents. "What?"

"You're an idiot," Jason just sighed. He sipped his cup of beer, shaking his head. "Tim seriously? She's pregnant. She's nine months pregnant. You forgot something, believe me. If you don't think you did, you did."

"That makes no sense."

"Yes it does," Eric said, talking over him. He shook his head when Tim tried to protest, pointing his finger towards the stairs. "Go upstairs and apologize. You still haven't learned what I told you. The pregnant woman is always right."

Tim rolled his eyes, going towards the staircase. That's what Coach told him during their 'chat' the last time he was in Dillon. He headed upstairs, finding their room empty. He went to the room at the end of the hall, slowly pushing the door open.

Since they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, Lyla had insisted they do the room in neutral colors. Brown, yellow, and green. He wanted it to be blue and yellow, Panther colors, but she said no, and made him paint it green. The entire theme was monkeys and jungle.

He walked over to the window seat, where she was seated, her ankles crossed and back against the wall. "Hey," he said, walking over and lifting her ankles, sitting across from her and setting them in his lap, holding them together. "You want a foot rub?"

"No," she said, her arms crossed over her massive belly. She rubbed at the side, lifting her eyes. "Baby's kicking again."

He reached over, feeling the hard punches. "That's lower," he frowned, lifting his eyes to hers.

"Yeah, the head dropped. Any day now."

"But the due date is next week."

"That's still any day now," she snapped. She covered her mouth, smiling weakly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I feel…feel like some alien has taken over my body for the last nine months."

"Kind of true," he said, smiling a little. He leaned over, kissing her lightly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everyone just keeps telling me to say I'm sorry." Tim rolled his eyes again. "And that you're always right."

Lyla chuckled, her hands going to either side of her stomach. "I am always right, but you don't always have to say you're sorry. I'm not that crazy of a pregnant woman."

"Now you tell me, a week from Herman's birth."

"Herman?"

"Yes, Herman. Or Truman. I can't decide," he teased, laughing when she threw a stuffed monkey at him. He held it up, making a high-pitched voice sound. "My name is Herman Riggins and my mommy is the best ever!"

Lyla burst out laughing, leaning forward to grab the monkey. "Shut up!"

He kept speaking in the super high-pitched voice. "And she's the prettiest lady in the whollle world and I know that Daddy loves her," he said, dropping back to his regular voice, leaning over and kissing her lightly. "Very, very much."

"I love you…oh!" Lyla lurched forward, gripping his hands tight. She grimaced, gasping again.

Oh no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! "Baby's coming?" Tim exclaimed, looking down at her face, her eyes wide. "Is the baby coming?"

"I…" Lyla trailed off, yelping again. "Oh my God! My water…" She laughed, grabbing his face. "My water broke! Yes! Baby's coming!"

"Baby's coming!" he yelled again, grabbing her around the waist, her arm going to his neck, helping her walk out of the room and towards the stairs. "Coach! Billy! Buddy! Someone! Baby's coming!"

"What is going on?" Tami demanded, walking around the side of the staircase. "What are you hollering about Tim?"

"My baby is coming!"

Lyla shushed him, patting his cheek. "It's okay," she laughed, smiling wide, reaching gingerly for Tami's hand at the base of the staircase. "It was just one contraction. Oh…and another one." She closed her eyes. "Oh my God that's the weirdest feeling."

"Oh it's going to get weirder sweetheart, come on," Tami said, helping her towards the door. She snapped her fingers. "Timothy, get my purse, get Lyla's bag, Eric! Let's go to the hospital, now have you had some pain today Lyla?"

"My back had been hurting, but…oh," Lyla drawled, realizing. "Those were contractions."

"Yup."

"Come on Tim!"

Woola woofed around his feet, dancing in fat bulldog circles as he tried to grab keys, bags, coats, anything. "I don't know what I'm doing!" he yelled, grabbing Billy's shoulders. "My baby's coming!"

"Where is my daughter?" Buddy yelled, barreling in from the porch outside with Coach and Jason wheeling quickly towards the front of the house. He grabbed Tim. "Where is she?"

"She's in the car! Let's go!" Tim pushed Buddy out of the house, running towards the new SUV he'd just bought at Lyla's insistence a few weeks before, since she said the truck was no safe place for a newborn baby. He flew into the front seat, Buddy climbing into the passenger seat. "Let's go!"

They drove backwards out of the driveway, until Buddy glanced at him before they pulled onto the road. "Wait…where's Lyla?"

Tim looked into the backseat. No Lyla. He whipped his head back to the house. "Aw damnit!"

"You forgot the pregnant woman in labor!?"

"So did you!"

He accelerated back to the house, where Lyla was standing, bemused, next to the driveway. "Sorry!" he yelled, getting out of the car to help her into the backseat. "My bad, got a little excited."

"You're an idiot Riggins."

"I know, I love you." He kissed her one more time, grinning wide as Billy waved, yelling about how he'd meet them at the hospital with Mindy and the kids. He waited until Mrs. Taylor was in the car too, glancing at her. "Where's Coach?"

"Coach is going to get Jason and meet us there, now come on Tim, we don't have all night!"

"Oh, right."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** One more chapter left and then this is OFFICIALLY done. I won't go back to it, thanks for the reviews :) This next chapter is kind of a complete hodge podge of things. It's all entirely from Tim's POV. I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

This was the worst idea Lyla Garrity ever had in her entire life, other than that one time when she said yes, I will marry you Tim Riggins, Tim thought, leaning back in the chair in her hospital room, watching a soap opera and tapping two cigars on his head, ignoring her yelling at her father to stop puttering around and go call her mother to let her know that her daughter was in labor.

It had been going on like this for the last four hours. Buddy did something that set her off, she yelled at him, but it hadn't gotten so far as to finally kick him out. Yeah, when are you gonna' do that, wasn't that the plan, Tim wondered.

But he wouldn't say anything because he was staying as far away from this fight as he could be without having to leave the room.

He looked up when the door opened and Mrs. Taylor walked in. "Buddy," she barked, pointing to the door. "Out, out, out."

"But this is my daughter."

"Daddy I love you, but you have to get out, go in the waiting room, Tim will tell you when it's over and go call Mom!" she yelled. Lyla cried out again. "Tim! Where are you?"

He stood up, walking over to her. "Yeah?"

"I am never," she vowed, looking up at him with crazy devil eyes and her hair flying all over the place. A bead of sweat ran down from her brow to her cheek. "I am never letting you touch me again. So help me Tim Riggins!"

"Oh darling, you'll change your mind soon enough, come on, let go of him," Tami soothed, releasing Lyla's hand from the front of his shirt.

Tim just flashed a quick smile. "Love you."

"Get my father out of here," she growled. She closed her eyes again, fighting through a contraction. "I hate you."

"I love you!" He ran out of the delivery room into the hall, where Buddy was yelling on his phone at what he imagined was Mrs. Garrity, or whatever she was calling herself since she married the hippie guy. Who gave them a fig tree for their wedding gift. Woola ate it and got sick.

He walked towards Buddy. "Hey."

"Pam I gotta' go, bye!" Buddy disconnected the call, turning to face him, jabbing the iphone into his chest. "You said that Lyla wanted me in there!"

"Ah…she's pregnant, she changes her mind a lot."

"Well you need to get her permission for something."

No more asking permission for anything. It never got him anywhere good. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, sighing, his eyes closing. This could only be a bad thing. "What's up?" he asked again.

Buddy smiled, puffing his chest. "I want you to consider giving the baby a middle name of Buddy. Been in the family forever. Maybe even a Buddy the III."

No Buddy the IIIs, Tim thought, eyes wide. He really had no idea what to say to that. Maybe it wouldn't matter if it was a boy. "Ah…okay. I'll talk to her."

"Okay." Buddy puffed up proudly, patting his shoulders before tugging him into a giant Buddy bear hug. "You're a good man Tim Riggins. A good son-in-law."

Yeah, I don't know about that, Tim said, smiling a little and backing away. "Better get back there. Before she kills someone."

Lyla let out another sob from the room, yelling for him, which had Tami leaning out the door. "Tim!" she bellowed. "Get back in here! You are never to leave her side. You understand?"

"Coming!" He ran away from Buddy, sliding into the room where Lyla was gripping the bar above the bed, leaning forward. "What's going on?"

"What is going on!?" Lyla sobbed. "I am trying to push a human being out of my body and you go running off again? What is wrong with you? You have the attention span of a monkey. Get over here!" She grabbed his collar, pulling him towards her. "Hold my hand and breathe with me!"

Tami just smiled, waving her finger between the two of them. "I'll just leave y'all. Lyla, sweetheart, you want me to get anyone or anything for you?"

Lyla fell backwards onto the bed, taking a few cleansing breaths, her voice weak. "Tell Billy that I will kill him for this."

"Billy?" Tim exclaimed, staring at her stomach. "Wait…what?"

"He's the one who told me," Lyla closed her eyes, her voice faraway. She swallowed a few times, taking her breaths slowly. "He told me to come back because Tim was all…all depressed and stuff. So I came back to see you, after I got to Austin, because Billy called me. This is his fault." She sat back up, rubbing at her back. "God Tim, come sit with me, please. Don't go."

Did she even realize what she just said, he wondered, taking her hand and sitting beside her on the bed, rubbing at her back. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," he murmured. He glanced back at Tami. "Send in Jason in a few minutes, maybe that will calm her down."

"Alright."

Lyla took a few more breaths, lifting her face to his. "I was terrified when I came back, you know? I just…I had no idea what you were going to do or say." She closed her eyes, taking a few more deep breaths, smiling up at him. She folded her fingers into his, her thumb pressing into his wedding ring. "I had no idea this would be what happened, you know?"

He kissed her brow, smiling. "I think it goes back a lot farther than that."

"No one ever said that falling in love with a guy you knew in high school would work out. Or if it ever really does."

"We fell out of love though Lyla," he said, quiet. That's what he figured it was. They just…couldn't exist beyond high school. Until they could. They fell back in love again. He let himself, so to speak. Gave himself permission. He cringed when she started to close her eyes tight, her breath growing deeper and harder. "Hey, another one?"

"They get," she gasped, closing her eyes again and breathing. "They get faster together and longer, oh my God, this one really hurts. It really, really…"

"What about maybe getting some of that nice no pain juice? How about it Garrity?"

She shook her head hard, her hair falling over her eyes. "No drugs Tim. I don't want any drugs."

"Okay, if you say so." He figured it was too late anyway.

Jason wheeled himself in a few minutes later and promptly wheeled himself out when Lyla yelled at him that this was also his fault because he was friends with the idiot that knocked her up and if they hadn't been friends, she'd never have looked twice at Tim. Jason said he'd gone through this twice with his wife, he wasn't putting himself through it with her, so he'd go home and see them when the baby was born.

A few more hours passed, and after he ended up back in his chair, watching soap operas while she panted through contractions. "Hey Tim?" she wondered out loud, about an hour and a half later, with people wandering in and out to say hello and just go back out to the waiting room. Or leave, he thought, which is what he'd have done hours and hours ago.

"Yeah?"

"What did my dad say to you in the hall? Earlier?"

"Oh," he said, looking back. He didn't really want to traumatize her with the idea of a Buddy III. "Ah…after you give birth."

"Okay." She closed her eyes, turning away from him onto her side, breathing through a few more hard contractions, which he tried to help her through by rubbing her back, but she almost just ended up passing out. While she dozed between contractions, he left the room, going into the waiting area to see who managed to stay.

He nodded to Coach Taylor, who stood, coming over to join him. "I don't know how Lyla can sleep, but she's sleeping."

"She done yelling at you yet?"

"Not quite sir."

"It goes on a few more times, but she won't remember it," Eric advised, walking with him out of the waiting area to get a cup of coffee. He chuckled. "I remember when Julie was born. Tami was freaking out the entire time. Then she got an epidural, but she still insists she did it naturally. I take it Lyla didn't get one."

"Says she wants to do it naturally, the way God intended." He shrugged. "I figured if God made drugs, then maybe that's the way it should be, but she doesn't agree." He yawned, shaking his head, reaching for a cup of terrible coffee, taking a few sips before throwing it away. It woke him up. He shook his head. "No drugs, so my hand is about like this…" He held up his claw. One of the doctors told him he probably had broken a bone, but he'd get that checked later.

"Well," Eric commented, patting his shoulder, smiling. "I know you've had plenty of talks with Buddy and Billy and Matt and Jason, but let me tell you something Tim…this is not something to be half-assed. It is not something that you just give up when it gets hard. This is even worse than marriage. This is a human being."

He smiled a little. "Yeah I got that sir," he whispered. He looked down at the floor and then back up towards the hall. "I should probably get back to her."

"Tami in there?"

"She comes and goes sir."

"Well, I'll sit out here. Jason had to go back to his parents' to get Noah, but he said he'd be back later. Billy and Mindy are sleeping and Tyra just showed up."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah with Lance."

Tim frowned, wondering who Lance was. He walked away from Coach, saying he'd see him in a few, hopefully not hours, and returned to Lyla's delivery room. He sat back down in his chair, glancing at her, where she was breathing hard again. "You okay?"

"It's hard," she managed to get out, her hair falling down around her shoulders. She grabbed at his hands. "Talk to me, about anything."

"Um…Tyra's dating some guy named Lance."

"Lance?"

"Yeah."

"Who is that?" Lyla yelled, gripping both of his hands as he leaned over her back. She fell backwards against him when the contraction faded. "Oh my God. This is taking forever!" She glared at her belly. "Get out! Get out, get out! Why are you still hiding in there? It's not that great! It's cramped and dark and your mommy, really, really wants you out of there."

He smiled a little, rubbing at the side of her belly. "I think he or she just likes the little home you've built in there."

Lyla arched an eyebrow before she narrowed her eyes at him. "That's a load of crap, wait.." Suddenly, her hand came up. She blinked a few times, thinking about something. "Lance. Landry. Tyra's dating Landry, it's not Lance. Right?"

"Landry?" He wasn't sure what to make of that. He frowned after a second, deciding it was a good thing. He smiled in approval. "Good for Landry."

"This town is so sick and twisted I don't even know what to say to you commenting on your sister-in-law's new boyfriend."

He kissed her cheek. "You came back to this sick and twisted town."

She rolled her eyes. "I did." She sighed. "Because I think I love you."

A few minutes later the door opened and one of her doctors entered, peeking beneath the sheet and grinning. "10 centimeters! You're ready, let's get this party started."

As if it hadn't already begun, Tim wondered, his heart beginning to pound harder when nurses started coming and going, bringing in sheets and trays and setting up the corner of the room where there was a bassinet thing of some sort. They gave him a surgical thing to put on over his clothes and to cover his hair and something for Lyla as well.

It was real now. Well, more real than it was with the screaming pregnant woman beside him for the last ten hours.

"Okay Lyla," the doctor said a minute later, after putting on a mask and a cap. She looked up. "Next contraction I want you to push. Tim, hold her leg back."

"What?" he exclaimed. He stuttered. "I…I can't…can't see…what…no."

"It's nothing you haven't already studied intensely before, probably more than anything else," Lyla snapped at him. She leaned forward, gripping the bars at the side of the bed. And then Tim saw it. Uh oh, he thought, watching her pause, as though she was fully realizing something.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Can't what?"

"I can't do this." She breathed in and out a few times, shallowly. "I can't…can't have a baby, what was I thinking? I…I can't even make toast without burning it! I…I can't even get married without you asking my dad for permission, you…you're perfect and amazing and I…I give up when I can't get money for college or…or when people are mean to me…how can I have a baby?"

She shook her head harder, beginning to hyperventilate. "I…I can't do this. This…Tim, no, no it's too hard…I…no."

The doctor glanced at him, whispering. "Calm her down Tim, the baby is crowning and needs to come out now."

How am I supposed to calm her down, he wondered, biting his bottom lip. He leaned over, reaching for her face and turning her towards him. He shut out the sounds of the people around them, speaking to her and only her.

"Hey," he whispered, his forehead falling to touch hers. He felt really calm. Calmer than he probably should right now, but…he knew what he had to say. "Look at me." Her eyes met his. "You are Lyla Garrity. You can do anything. Remember? Remember high school? You could get through all that. You could go to school and leave Dillon and be a doctor and you could come back, come back to Austin and come back to me and to Dillon."

She smiled a little, nodding as he continued. He grinned. "You…you married me, you know? You can live with me without smothering me in my sleep because I…because I leave the front door unlocked or I don't fold the laundry or I don't want to expand the business more or apply myself more or…or I drink more than I should or stay out with Billy too late or do stupid stuff like burn down the barn with fireworks…"

"That was you!? You said it was Billy! I yelled at him!"

"Don't change the subject." He took another breath, smiling wide at her. "You are Lyla Garrity and I love you and believe me…you're going to be an amazing mom because you're already an amazing person. And…" He shrugged, whispering. "You said yes to me. This is a cakewalk compared to that."

She covered his hands with hers, smiling through tears. "I love you." She laughed. "We're going to be parents."

"Kind of crazy, right?" he whispered with a grin. He cleared his throat, whispering. "And your dad wants to name him Buddy the Third."

"What!?"

"Push Lyla!" the doctor yelled.

Lyla yelled out, grabbing hold of his hand, pushing hard. She took a few more breaths and he stared in a strange mix of fascination and horror as he saw a head, with a hell of a lot of dark hair and, as the next fifteen minutes progressed, he saw shoulders and…and a body and…and then feet. "How the hell are you doing this?" he exclaimed, marveling at the disgustingness and the beauty of it all.

"Not helping!" Lyla yelled, giving one more final push. She fell backwards in exhaustion, tears streaming down her face. "Is it…what is it?"

Tim stared at his kid, with moving arms and legs and a huge set of lungs, taking strange little breathing sounds for the first time. He let go of her hand, walking over and taking the scissors that a nurse pushed into his hands, snipping the cord. "That's so weird," he whispered, looking at the baby again.

His kid.

Their kid.

"Tim!" Lyla exclaimed. She laughed, her face glowing. "Do we have a girl or a boy?"

He just grinned, reaching for her face and kissing her hard before they gave him the baby to pass to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Just a comment regarding these types of fics I write, yeah, I like writing them. I guess you could call them romantic comedies? I don't know, I just like writing funny, fluffy, happy fics with all the characters together. I know it's unrealistic, but writing angst can be so draining that when I tend to start one of those fics, I have to do one of these fics to keep me from taking it too seriously, LOL. But this is the last chapter here, so just wanted to say thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

Tami pushed her fingers through her hair, shaking her head slightly at Eric as they drove away from the hospital. "I am so tired, I feel like I just gave birth. Wow."

"I can't believe we stayed there for the whole thing. How did that happen?"

"Because Tim likes you, because you like him."

Eric reached over and took her hand, holding it over the middle console of the SUV. "I guess." He sighed, looking down at her smiling. "Remember when I almost missed Gracie's birth?"

"Yeah I'm still annoyed about that," she chuckled, kissing his cheek. She sighed, shaking her head once more. "Tim and Lyla have a baby girl. Good Lord, I don't even know what to think of that. I remember when they were just little kids."

"No you don't, we weren't here when they were little kids."

"Yes I do, well, little kids to me. Teenagers to the rest of the world. They were just kids. Gosh. Our daughter has a child, she's married to your quarterback." Tami hit her head back against the headrest, her eyes closing. "And that baby though…so precious. I forgot how little they are, you know?"

"Well she was tiny, what'd Tim say? Six pounds? Several ounces?"

"Yeah, but she's long, almost twenty-two inches." She chuckled, smacking his shoulder lightly. "Remember Henry? Julie just looked at him and wanted to know why she got so fat when he was like seven pounds."

"Almost eight, that's pretty average."

"And Gracie was so little too, oh." Tami pressed her hand to her heart, smiling sideways at him. "I told Lyla that we'd watch her sometimes, when they want a break."

Eric frowned, turning off the state highway onto a side road. "You what?!"

"Told her we'd babysit. Henry lives in Chicago, Eric, Gracie doesn't speak to me half the time because she's 16, and I am too damn old to have another baby, so I will live vicariously through Tim and Lyla's daughter, plus," she drawled, lifting an eyebrow. "Do you really think Buddy or Billy are good babysitters?"

"Billy's a good dad."

"And Buddy?"

"He managed to raise Lyla."

"Yes, but she's one of those rare instances where the child comes out nothing like her parents." Tami shook her head, leaning it against his shoulder, smiling happily, her eyes closing. "I just want to go to bed, but we have to drop him off."

She turned slightly in her seat, smiling at Tim, who was fast asleep and sprawled out on the backseat. He must have fallen asleep the second he climbed in the car. "I want to also make sure we get him into the house and settled and clean it up a bit. And I want to make food tomorrow so they have some stuff for the first few days. I don't think we ate after we brought Julie home from the hospital."

Eric just smiled down at her. "Remember when we brought her home though? I left the water running after you went into labor."

"And my sister said she'd clean up the house for us but she didn't. That was fun."

He kissed the top of her head. "Well, babysitting wouldn't be so bad, I guess."

She looked back at Tim, who hadn't moved a muscle. "Think he knows what the hell is going to happen in his life now?"

"Absolutely not. No one knows."

Eric pulled the SUV into Tim's drive, coming to a hard stop, which forced Tim to jump up in the backseat. "Alright Riggins, the ride has come to a complete stop, get out."

"Where are we?" Tim mumbled, stumbling out of the back of the SUV. He ran his fingers through his hair, yawning. "This my house?"

"Yup, come on," Tami said, helping him up into the house, where he promptly went upstairs. He leaned over the banister railing, smiling down at her.

"Thanks Mrs. Taylor," he called out. "But we'll be fine."

She lifted an eyebrow, smiling. "Oh I doubt that." She left him to most likely collapse onto his bed, going into the kitchen to clean up the mess they'd left behind 10 hours ago. Once it was the way she wanted it, she left, Eric following after telling Tim they'd see him on Saturday.

Eric walked them over to their car, which they'd left in the mad dash to the hospital. He held open the door for her, smiling a little. "Babysitting doesn't seem so bad. I guess I'd prefer we do it than Buddy."

"Well I can't believe I'm saying this but I think he'll be a good grandpa, even if he is a little overzealous sometimes."

"I'm too tired to even know what that word means."

Tami chuckled, reaching over to squeeze his hand again. "Our kids are all grown up Eric."

"Don't worry about it Tami I'm fairly sure that No Name Baby Girl Riggins is going to be needing you for advice. Her family on either side isn't exactly the most normal."

"Normal's all relative," she murmured, looking out the window and smiling. In fact, she thought, leaning back in her seat…she looked forward to it.

* * *

"Don't wake her up!"

"I just want to hold her."

Billy grabbed him around his shoulders, lifting him up. "No!" he hissed. "Ever hear of never wake a sleeping baby?"

"That like never wake a sleeping dog? I wake up Woola all the time and he bites me."

"In so many words." Billy let go of him before punching him hard in the back. "I can't get over this baby brother! You have a kid! It's crazy."

"Shh," Tim whispered, holding his finger to his lips. "Don't wake her up." He leaned back over the crib again, reaching to drag his finger over his daughter's tiny, tiny hand. He turned sideways at Billy, who just leaned on the bars, looking over as well. "Is this really hard?"

"Hardest job in the world Timmy."

He looked back down at the baby, smiling to himself. "Kind of scary," he whispered, her little hand gripping the tip of his finger in her sleep. It was in a tiny mitten thing, Lyla said it was so she didn't scratch herself with her fingernails. He looked over at his brother. "Not as scary as a boy though."

"I wouldn't know," Billy said, patting his shoulder again. "Four boys."

"I think it's scarier," he breathed, unable to take his eyes off of little Sarah. Lyla wanted a religious name, because she'd said she'd prayed for her whole life to be that happy and now she was. He liked that name better than Mary, which was her other option.

Little Sarah…it made her seem so delicate, he thought, smiling at her a little. He was pretty sure he could barely remember his own name when he was around her.

Billy frowned a little. "What did Buddy say when you told him you weren't making her middle name Buddy?"

"He doesn't know yet," Tim said, smiling stupidly at his daughter. He really didn't want to think of Buddy right now. Or any of his psychotic dealings with his pseudo-father. Since Buddy was more than a father-in-law to him.

"What is her middle name again?"

"Taylor," he whispered. He turned his head slightly. "Coach deserves it."

"Well, whatever her name, you did good Tim."

"Lyla did all the work."

"Whatever."

He left her alone for now, leaving the room with Woola and Billy, waiting until Billy was gone before he snuck back into the room. "Don't touch her," Lyla said from the window seat, her eyes closed. "I'll kill you if you wake her up."

"Fine," he grumbled, settling for just staring at her instead.

Later that night he leaned back in the porch swing, holding Sarah, with Lyla resting against him. "Hey," she said, her voice quiet. "My dad wants permission to come over. I told him that he's not allowed to just drop by unannounced anymore and he needs both of us to agree. I say its fine, so long as he stops trying to convince us to sign Sarah up for cheerleading when she's only a week old."

"Besides," she continued, looking over at him, her head propped on her hand, her elbow on his shoulder. "I do not want our daughter in cheerleading. Ever."

"You want her in football?" he grinned.

"If she wants, fine. I'm just not forcing her to do it." LYla sighed again. "Oh and my mother bought her plane ticket, she's flying out next week to stay with us for two weeks." One eye opened, peering up at him. "That's not a problem?"

He scowled. "Your mother hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"She said all I care about is football, beer, and chasing skirts." He lifted an eyebrow. "At our wedding."

"Well," Lyla drawled, cocking her head slightly, smiling. "You do care about football and beer and the only skirt you chase is mine and you know full well what I'd do to you if you chased someone else's skirt, so there's no issue. I'll handle my mother, you just focus on dealing with my dad. He's more of a problem because he's around all the time."

Fine, whatever, he thought. He glanced at the baby and made a face at her. She was peering up at them with a weird mix of blue-hazel eyes. Mindy told him that most babies had blue eyes and they changed as they got older. He looked back at Lyla. "Tell your dad he can come over and hey, I think I know what you were talking about, a long time ago about asking your dad for permission to marry you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he sighed. He kissed Sarah's brow. "But if anyone asks me, I'm never letting them marry her. There is no one good enough. No one will ever be good enough."

Lyla rolled her eyes, brushing her nose over his. "You'll change your mind one day, not that I want to think about that day since she's only a week old." She settled closer to him. "Oh hey, speaking of permission, guess what Mindy told me?"

"What?"

Lyla giggled, her chin resting on his shoulder. "Apparently she got a phone call from Landry Clarke. He went to Angela and asked permission for Tyra's hand in marriage. Isn't that adorable?"

"Adorable?" He rolled his eyes. "Landry doesn't know what he's getting involved in with that."

"With what? With Tyra? You were with her."

"Yes and there's a reason it didn't work out."

"Because you love me?"

He lifted an eyebrow and then glanced back at Sarah. "What do you say kid? We love her?" He lifted Sarah up, pretending to listen to her, grinning slowly as he did. "What's that? Oh? Okay, I'll tell her." He turned back to Lyla, his face impassive. "She said that we need to think about it."

"Shut up."

He kissed her lightly. "Thanks for coming back."

"You're welcome," she answered, kissing him again. "Thanks for taking me back."

He looked down at Woola, who was whining beneath the swing. "I think he feels left out."

Lyla leaned down and picked up the hefty bulldog, setting him in her lap, smiling up. "We make an odd little family, don't we?"

"Yeah. By the way, we're not letting your dad move into the garage."

"Why would you say something like that?"

He glanced at her. "Seriously Garrity? One day we'll have that conversation. He's going to want permission to start putting stuff there and then he'll be living there."

"Tim please don't joke."

"What makes you think I'm joking?"

Lyla looked a little sick at the thought. "I love my father," she said, shaking her head. "But I think the day he moves in with us is the day I move to a fabulous apartment in Austin."

He sighed. "Fine. So long as I get a key."

"Deal," she whispered, pecking his lips, smiling goofily, her hand on his chest. "Pretty cool though, huh? Two idiots like us, married and with a kid? And a dog? And all this land? I mean…I never could have thought of this back when we met."

"That's because back when we met you were going to have it all with Jason," he whispered, carefully moving Sarah towards her arms, Woola looking down at the baby and studying her. Sarah looked up at the dog, her mouth opening and fingers moving a little. He woofed his approval and settled down. He rested his head against hers. "But you know Garrity, that whole Texas Forever thing? It was always supposed to be the three of us. If it ever…ever was done right."

"I'm just glad you let me be a part of it," she whispered, taking his face into her hand, kissing gently. She smiled again. "Right?"

"Right," he breathed, his nose brushing hers. "Texas forever, that's all I ever wanted."

"And you got so much more."

Yeah, he thought to himself, glancing at his girl, his daughter, and his dog, sitting in the house he built, on his piece of Texas. "Not too shabby," he drawled, resting his head against the swing, pushing his foot off the porch, rocking gently.

**_THE END (Officially!)_**


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